Tried to download Mozilla Firefox yesterday, but it says it's not compatible with Widows 98. Anyone have suggestions for any other browser that would work with Windows 98? I'd like a new PC, but just can't afford it now. Thanks.
Bug Report #9 Edit Your Threads via the Select-o-Dial!
- Thread starter Unimatic1140
- Start date
Help Support :
Computer is from 2004, Pentium IV 2.40GHz, 512Mb, so it's somewhere between the stone age and modern times.
I have no problem with downloading longer threads. This thread was a matter of a few seconds. Other long threads as well. Downloading threads with a lot of pictures take just a bit longer, it's mainly bigger pictures that are downloading slower.
I have no problem with downloading longer threads. This thread was a matter of a few seconds. Other long threads as well. Downloading threads with a lot of pictures take just a bit longer, it's mainly bigger pictures that are downloading slower.
Robert - my 2 year old iMac has handled the changes quite well (2.66 dual core, 2GB RAM) , on both the latest versions of Firefox and Safari.
Now if I had the 1989 Mac SE/30 hooked up to the net, we could then see if the 'older' Macs could handle the upgrades!
Ben
Now if I had the 1989 Mac SE/30 hooked up to the net, we could then see if the 'older' Macs could handle the upgrades!
Ben
lordkenmore
Well-known member
Firefox on Windows 98
Older versions of Firefox can run on Windows 98. Here's a Mozilla site of previous versions of Firefox.
A fast Google search suggests that Firefox 2 can run on Windows 98.
Technically, older versions pose a security problem, since they are unsupported. That said, I'd feel more confident in older versions of Firefox than I would IE. And, even with a current browser, there's always a risk. A well maintained obsolete system used with care could easily be less of a problem than a modern up to date system used stupidly.
I haven't used Firefox on Windows enough to know, but my experience elsewhere is that Firefox seemed to get slower as the version number went up. Older versions might be faster--but they are less likely to be supported by some web sites. (Most web sites I go to don't really seem to care. But there are sites that will kick up a fuss and potentially not even work if used with an older browser.)
The download link is here. I can't provide it the normal way--every time I try, the preview message has a bad link which adds "http:" to the address. Copy this link and paste into your web browser:
https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/
Older versions of Firefox can run on Windows 98. Here's a Mozilla site of previous versions of Firefox.
A fast Google search suggests that Firefox 2 can run on Windows 98.
Technically, older versions pose a security problem, since they are unsupported. That said, I'd feel more confident in older versions of Firefox than I would IE. And, even with a current browser, there's always a risk. A well maintained obsolete system used with care could easily be less of a problem than a modern up to date system used stupidly.
I haven't used Firefox on Windows enough to know, but my experience elsewhere is that Firefox seemed to get slower as the version number went up. Older versions might be faster--but they are less likely to be supported by some web sites. (Most web sites I go to don't really seem to care. But there are sites that will kick up a fuss and potentially not even work if used with an older browser.)
The download link is here. I can't provide it the normal way--every time I try, the preview message has a bad link which adds "http:" to the address. Copy this link and paste into your web browser:
https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/
lordkenmore
Well-known member
Other Windows 98 browsers
Opera is also a choice. I don't think the current version runs on Windows 98, but older versions will. I THINK Opera 9.64 still ran on Windows 98.
www.opera.com
Opera is also a choice. I don't think the current version runs on Windows 98, but older versions will. I THINK Opera 9.64 still ran on Windows 98.
Download the Opera browser for computer, phone and tablet | Opera
Download the Opera browser for computer, phone and tablet. Opera for Mac, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS. Free VPN, Ad Blocker, built-in messengers.
www.opera.com
lordkenmore
Well-known member
K-Meleon is a current product, and still apparently runs on older versions of Windows. They claim it can even be run on a 486 system!
Being current is a good thing...although many sites that dictate what browsers you can use won't be happy.
Being current is a good thing...although many sites that dictate what browsers you can use won't be happy.
K-Meleon
K-Meleon is a fast and customizable lightweight web browser for Windows, based on the rendering engine of Mozilla. K-Meleon is free (open source) software released under the GNU General Public License.
kmeleon.sourceforge.net
lordkenmore
Well-known member
Here's a link to KMeleon's system requirements. It includes links for MS package you may need
K-Meleon - FAQ
K-Meleon is a fast and customizable lightweight web browser for Windows, based on the rendering engine of Mozilla. K-Meleon is free (open source) software released under the GNU General Public License.
kmeleon.sourceforge.net
Tom don't worry about the browser, I have an idea that if I get some free time tommorrow I will give it a try. It might help speed things up for you.
lordkenmore
Well-known member
"Now if I had the 1989 Mac SE/30 hooked up to the net, we could then see if the 'older' Macs could handle the upgrades! "
I think that could be interesting. I used a SE/30 years ago--mostly for word processing--and it served very well.
Possibly, given our love of vintage around here, we should all consider visiting this site with older systems. Although the SE/30 is probably not the best choice--the built in black and white screen limits one's enjoyment of washing machine pictures!
I saw an article on someone who still uses his SE/30--or at least when the article appeared in 2008. His uses include some web browsing (with Netscape 2). I managed to find the link to the article:
"I think that could be interesting. I used a SE/30 years ago--mostly for word processing--and it served very well.
Possibly, given our love of vintage around here, we should all consider visiting this site with older systems. Although the SE/30 is probably not the best choice--the built in black and white screen limits one's enjoyment of washing machine pictures!
I saw an article on someone who still uses his SE/30--or at least when the article appeared in 2008. His uses include some web browsing (with Netscape 2). I managed to find the link to the article:
Thanks Theo, so I assume you mean by "No, the Select-O-Dial doesn't work at all" you are talking about your oldest Macintosh only, and it does work on the rest.
OK here is what I did...
On all computers that the system detects Windows 98 or earlier I've change the Select-o-Dial to be simple icons without the drop down. This should speed up older computers considerably. Can you all with older computers verify this for me and check to see if the icons are displaying rollover text to let you know what they do and that you can click on them (make a post in here and then edit it).
OK here is what I did...
On all computers that the system detects Windows 98 or earlier I've change the Select-o-Dial to be simple icons without the drop down. This should speed up older computers considerably. Can you all with older computers verify this for me and check to see if the icons are displaying rollover text to let you know what they do and that you can click on them (make a post in here and then edit it).
I have no problems when using Mac OS 10.4 or 10.6 and Safari or Firefox as browsers.
I use the G4 Mac with OS 9.2.2 only with certain peripherals for which there are no drivers that are compatible with newer versions of the Mac OS.
The G4 is normally not used for browsing the internet. I specifically installed iCab, one of the most recent browsers for OS 9.2 (released in January 2008) to see if the new forum features would work on an older Mac.
I use the G4 Mac with OS 9.2.2 only with certain peripherals for which there are no drivers that are compatible with newer versions of the Mac OS.
The G4 is normally not used for browsing the internet. I specifically installed iCab, one of the most recent browsers for OS 9.2 (released in January 2008) to see if the new forum features would work on an older Mac.
Thanks Robert!
It is now working much better - this thread only took a few seconds to load. However, the icons have disappeared.
It is now working much better - this thread only took a few seconds to load. However, the icons have disappeared.
However, the icons have disappeared.
Tom if you are using Windows 98 or earlier the icons should only be invisible if you are logged out. Otherwise in my screen shot below the top icon shows what it should like on regular posts (not yours or over the editing time limit) and the bottom bar shows what the icons should look like if you can edit your post. Tom does your screen look like that? What about other using Windows 98, I know there are quite a few users out there with Windows 98.
Tom if you are using Windows 98 or earlier the icons should only be invisible if you are logged out. Otherwise in my screen shot below the top icon shows what it should like on regular posts (not yours or over the editing time limit) and the bottom bar shows what the icons should look like if you can edit your post. Tom does your screen look like that? What about other using Windows 98, I know there are quite a few users out there with Windows 98.
Yes, that's what my screen is showing now. It's working great. Thanks again!
lordkenmore
Well-known member
No bug report in this post--just iCab & MacOS 9 babble
I've played with iCab a few times. It was highly regarded in some circles years back. But it never worked very well for me. The current iCab--the one for OS X only--did appear to be decent the one time I saw it. Although that's a different product--it's WebKit based.
For people with a "new" enough Classic MacOS system, the best choice for reasonably current browser is Classilla. It's based on Mozilla code, and it's actively being developed.
I've tried it on my Power Macintosh 7600 (with OS 8.6, a G3, and nearly 100MB memory). It appears to have good page rendering, but--on that machine--it's definitely sluggish. A newer computer would probably fix that. But the newer you go, the easier it becomes to run OS X.
Still, I like the Classilla project. There is a part of me that hates computer upgrades and hates the constant parade of whiny little voices telling me I need to buy something new. Anything that can keep something old running is a good thing. Then, there are people who have stuck with OS 9 for whatever reason. (I heard of one person running a graphics business who'd stuck with OS 9--he was tired of spending money for new graphics software, and he probably knew the stuff he had in and out making him more productive.) People like this could possibly use a reasonably modern browser.
I've played with iCab a few times. It was highly regarded in some circles years back. But it never worked very well for me. The current iCab--the one for OS X only--did appear to be decent the one time I saw it. Although that's a different product--it's WebKit based.
For people with a "new" enough Classic MacOS system, the best choice for reasonably current browser is Classilla. It's based on Mozilla code, and it's actively being developed.
I've tried it on my Power Macintosh 7600 (with OS 8.6, a G3, and nearly 100MB memory). It appears to have good page rendering, but--on that machine--it's definitely sluggish. A newer computer would probably fix that. But the newer you go, the easier it becomes to run OS X.
Still, I like the Classilla project. There is a part of me that hates computer upgrades and hates the constant parade of whiny little voices telling me I need to buy something new. Anything that can keep something old running is a good thing. Then, there are people who have stuck with OS 9 for whatever reason. (I heard of one person running a graphics business who'd stuck with OS 9--he was tired of spending money for new graphics software, and he probably knew the stuff he had in and out making him more productive.) People like this could possibly use a reasonably modern browser.
Classilla
I am now using Mac OS 9.2.2 and Classilla 9.1 and the Select-O-Dial doesn't work either. Besides that the status indicators are absent too. With iCab the status indicators are present and functional. All other buttons seem to work.
I am now using Mac OS 9.2.2 and Classilla 9.1 and the Select-O-Dial doesn't work either. Besides that the status indicators are absent too. With iCab the status indicators are present and functional. All other buttons seem to work.
